Built From Ashes
by nightwind83
Summary: Perfect lion hearts challenge. Everyone has a line you shouldn't cross. When her advisers cross Tsunade's the results will change the map of the elemental nations forever.
1. Chapter 1

**disclaimer: I don't own Naruto if I did I would have a lot more money**

Built From Ashs

Chapter 1

(v1.2)

"We have made our decision Tsunade! The council will not revoke it!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, glaring at Danzou and her sensei's former teammates. She had long ago passed being just angry. Hell, she was furious when she entered the council chambers. Now only a cold primal fury burned in her eyes.

This had caused the clan heads to shudder in fear of her wrath, and they had sided with her. For the most part that is. Only two clans had sided with the elders and the civilian council. All the clan heads noted that they were the only ones not to have a member of their clan associated with the village Jinchuriki. It was also noted by all that the only one on the civilian council to go against the elder council decision was the Haruno family head.

Tsunade noted all that supported her in her fight against the council's latest decision. She had been fighting with the elders for over an hour.

Yelling would be more accurate.

Now the slug Sannin was cold in her speaking. In a low voice that spoke far more of her righteous anger than anything. "I will ask one last time for the council to revise their decision. I warn you I am the Godaime (5th) Hokage, queen of slugs and elixirs, granddaughter of the Shodaime (1st) Hokage, great niece of the Nidaime (2nd) Hokage, and student of the Sandaime Hokage. As well as head of the Senju clan. One of the two clans that founded this village. Do you still wish to challenge me knowing these things?"

All within the room felt their own hearts being gripped by fear. The way Tsunade spoke left little doubt in any one's mind that she was a shinobi of the highest caliber. Capable of killing them all. To add to the fear, the stone table Tsunade sat behind was creaking, a table made from the best marble and refined with seals and Jutsus that the elders had personally designed to prevent anyone, including Tsunade, from breaking it. The table was creaking from what seemed to simply be Tsunade calmly laying her hand on it. Such was the power radiating off the last Senju.

It was Koharu Utatane, adviser to the Hokage and teammate of the Sandaime, that found her voice first. Most likely because of their mutual distaste for each other.

"W-we will not change our minds Tsunade. It is only because of who you are that we have allowed this insolence to continue. The council has made its decision and not even the Hokage can go against us." Though she started off weak she had found her strength by the end, managing to lessen the grip on her heart the fear had taken.

Regaining hold of her chakra again Tsunade stood up. A foolish civilian council member decided to speak "Besides even you won't dare go against the Daimyo of the land you serve, and he will support our decision."

The Godaime (5th) didn't even slow down. The fool who would let such info slip would be dealt with by Danzou, if her so-called advisers failed to do so. For some reason, Tsunade didn't doubt that the Daimyo would side with the council. Maybe it had something to do with the winning lottery ticket that laid on her desk in her office. Either way, there was only one path left that she was willing to take.

As she left with a new purpose Tsunade could only wonder yet again how it came to this.

{5 DAYS AGO}

Sasuke looked down at his friend. The very one that he had just nearly killed two times. He stood over Naruto who laid there barely breathing, bleeding. As he turned to leave, the blond ninjas eyes struggled to open, his hand lashing out towards the Uchiha's leg. It would have been a simple thing to remove his hand, but something stopped him.

"Let go dope. You lost, let go." Naruto's eyes were no longer open, and the cursed ninja could tell he was unconscious.

Next thing he knew was darkness.

Kakashi gave a sigh as he made a shadow clone. He had barely made it in time. Pakkun had rushed once they got past Lee's and Gaara's fight. The chakra was so heavy from his two students fight that it made his Sharingan useless for tracking. It was only Naruto's bright jacket that had allowed him to spot the pair so quickly. Opening two gates for a second, giving him the speed he needed to reach them, to stop Sasuke.

As he studied his student's bodies for injuries the copy-nin was filled with pride and regret. It didn't take an expert to tell that almost all of Naruto's wounds were meant to be killing blows. The burns on Naruto's body were very severe, though he could already tell that they were healing.

Even ignoring the wound from a chidori all the wounds on the blond were meant to kill or cripple him.

Reaching into his pouch Kakashi took out some chakra sensitive gauze. Doing what he could to help patch up the Jinchuriki, so he could be moved. Hopefully, Naruto's luck would hold out and he would make it to the village to get proper treatment. Log knows if they had to rely on his own luck then the Uzumaki would be dead. As he prepared Naruto for moving he was filled with a sense of loathing, he had taught Sasuke most of those moves that had been used against Naruto. Worst those he hadn't taught the Uchiha were copied from Lee, something the copy-nin had worked to incorporate into Sasuke's fighting style. It was meant as a way to fix the flaws in the inspecting fist form of the Uchiha clan. The clan style relied too heavily on the Sharingan for proper timing to be of any real use to one without it. Without him removing those flaws in Sasuke's style Naruto wouldn't have been in such bad shape.

He had been trying to help Obito's kin and the future of the clan. He had let that hope and the guilt he carried to cloud his judgment. He was wrong to think that Sasuke was ready for the responsibilities of a chuunin. He had truly thought he was, but everything after the exams had proved that wrong. Till this moment, he had thought that Sasuke had truly understood. Clearly, he was wrong there too and it almost cost Naruto his life. He should have pulled Sasuke from the exams once he reached the third round.

What little pride he felt was for Naruto. The jounin had only taken a glance, but what wounds Sasuke had were much lighter then what he knows Naruto could do. Somehow when he stared at Sasuke's scratched forehead protector his pride in Naruto swelled. He had again been wrong to object to Naruto learning the rasengan.

He grasped the abandoned forehead protector before carefully picking up his blond student then placing him on his back. Checking his shadow clone, he saw the Uchiha bound and secured with seals and two kinds of binding, the copy-nin signaled for his clone to go first. It wouldn't do to give the traitor a chance to escape should the Uchiha awaken and pop his clone.

It was fitting that the traitor was carried like a sack of flour. Even his clone had no concern for the Uchiha. Deep down he must truly hold some hate for Sasuke. Though he could only see parts of the traitor's body, Sasuke's wounds were clearly minor in comparison to what they could be. It was clear that Naruto had fought hard against him, trying his best to subdue him, but Kakashi could already tell that Naruto hadn't tried to kill him. There was no sign of wounds from the Rasengan nor did Sasuke show any sign of demonic poisoning.

The signs were always quick to show if you knew what you were looking for. Though the other energy that Kakashi sensed was probably from the curse mark and could have covered up the signs of Biju chakra poisoning, he somehow doubted that he would find any if that was the case. He knew from what little experience he had that if Naruto had the intent to kill, or lost control of the Kyuubi even a little, the signs would have been showing on Sasuke. If there was a body left.

Letting the thoughts of Sasuke and their fight drop from his mind he focused on the one he was carrying on his back. Kakashi knew that a lot of people credited Naruto's victory over Neji to him. Truthfully however, the jounin felt he owed nothing in that regard. It was pure Naruto through and through. Which is why Jiraiya had kept his involvement with Naruto known to a minimum. Best to let the blond earn his reputation from his own actions then to let fools minimize it based on who his teacher happened to be. From the moment the blond had made the blood oath with Hinata's blood, Kakashi was sure the Hyuga prodigy would be the one needing the hospital room. He had, in fact, reserved one for Neji.

When it came to combat Naruto had very good instincts. Then give him a little bit of motivation, and he was like a force of nature. His name had turned out to be very appropriate. Naruto had plenty of motivation just giving their positions. The so-called genius then gave a mountain load of motivation by not only belittling Hinata. Someone who gave Naruto a present, something the copy-nin knew was rare for the blond, since the young ninja had literally bled for just about everything he had. Neji then added fuel to the fire by trying to kill Hinata. Kakashi acted more out of the intent he was getting from Naruto than anything else. It was slight, but Naruto's chakra and body had reacted quicker than anyone else to the Hyuga's last blow against his kinsman. Even though Naruto himself had frozen in conflict over those reactions.

He couldn't help but wonder, if maybe he had focused on Naruto's skill better, what would have happened. Maybe explaining to him the importance of the scrolls he gave him. Tell him what little he knows of the Uzumaki clan. Or simply done more than one training season one on one with Naruto.

Funny, thinking back he had spent more time with Naruto and often built on Naruto's actions to decide on training seasons for the group activities. Most of the time he spent with Naruto wasn't as a teacher. It was simply reading just outside the blonde's window of his apartment. Something he wasn't even sure if Naruto knew or not. As far as the blond probably knew he was alone all those times. He really was a louse. At the very least Naruto wouldn't have a hole in his chest if he did things right instead of being a coward.

Using his guilt and regrets as motivation, the copy-nin increased his pace. "Come, let's pick up the pace."

He wouldn't let one of the few people he still cared about die. Not this one. Naruto was too important to him and deserves much more than to die for his mistakes, he wouldn't be adding to his sins with Naruto anymore.

…..

Madame Shijimi was deeply in love with her husband. For a noble lady, she was unquestionably lucky that he was in love with her too. If they were in a better world, or not shouldered with the responsibility of ruling a nation, they would spend every day together. Instead, she spent months in the leaf village as a guest. A position she had volunteered for.

After all, better her then one of their children, or even worse, one of her husband's relatives that wanted to gain power.

The guest, or more frankly political hostage, to the leaf village was a great way to gain power. She had more than once recruited a talented shinobi to work for her family directly. She had been the one to recruit Asuma Sarutobi into the 12 guardians. While no shinobi herself, she had a talent with chakra that would have allowed her to be a kunoichi if she so desired. What little she did know about the shinobi arts combined with the exposure to powerful shinobi, allowed the first lady of the land of fire to have an eye for the talented ones. Uzumaki Naruto was one of them, Kyuubi or no Kyuubi. She had watched over the years as he pulled off the nearly impossible, such as pranking ANBU.

Once he became a shinobi… well there was a reason that none of the tracking teams got the mission to retrieve her dear lovable Tora. Team 7 was one to watch, their teacher was enough for that. Passing his test was at the time considered an impossible feat, or so she heard.

The team's missions outside the village spoke more than anything. Where the leaf nearly worshiped the Uchiha, the opposite seemed to be the case for him and the Uzumaki when team 7 took missions outside the village.

Though descriptions of both boys' personalities seemed to be the same.

It was with a critical eye that the first lady of the land of fire watched Kakashi Hatake carry his two students into the hospital.

Naruto was clearly in the far worse shape of the two, while Sasuke Uchiha was clearly detained. Even Tora had stopped his loving pawing from the Uchiha's overflowing malice.

Turning to her chuunin guard slash secretary. "Please let my husband know about Uzumaki's mission."

The guard nodded, he would most likely have to use a favor from one of the less foolish civilian council members. He shuddered, the vile chakra coming off the Uchiha was enough that even Tora stopped trying to escape. Hopefully, Uzumaki hadn't been hurt by whatever it was. He'd shuddered to think what it would do to the seal on Uzumaki.

…

Hinata Hyuga was considered a disgrace to her clan. However, that was not exactly the case anymore for the clan as a whole.

Truly, Hinata cared little about that. More than anything her family was on its way to being whole again. Well, whole wasn't the right word, without her mother and uncle that wouldn't be possible. However, they were getting closer to whole again for the first time since she could clearly remember.

Neji-niisan was slowly returning to the person she remembered from her earliest memories. The air between Neji and her father was cleared of something. With both seeming to be lighter, as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. There was one person that Neji credited with helping him to open his eyes, Naruto-kun.

All this was at the back of her mind as she left the compound. Word had come in that the members of the Sasuke retrieval mission had been returning from the mission, successful or not no one was sure yet. However, what was known was that they had met heavy resistance from the sound. Leaving many members of the mission gravely injured. Hinata had never hated anyone. Sasuke and Orochimaru were currently flirting with that line.

More than anything Hinata simply focused on her destination, Her package securely in her hands. Lest she give into the darker parts of her heart. Lady Tsunade had called for all the clans to provide supplies for the hospital in preparation for the mission as well as future ones. Given her relationship with all the members, her father had seen fit to assign her to make sure that the Hyuga contribution was fully provided. A duty that Hinata tackled with zest.

…

Kakashi sat in the waiting room. He hadn't been this exhausted since he was a kid. All his muscles burned and only his remaining chakra and worry for Naruto kept him awake. A familiar pressure signaled the influx of memory from his clone. Reviewing the memories Kakashi was sent into a flurry of rage and guilt. Sasuke's wounds were minor, more so, all of them were meant to disable, confirming his earlier quick assessment. The Uchiha didn't have one crippling or deadly blow on him. It means Sasuke had tried to kill Naruto for the Mangekyo Sharingan.

He had told the Uchiha that he would have been a chuunin if not for Orochimaru's invasion. After only six months, something that only the Sannin had previously done. There wasn't enough of a match for Tsunade to receive reports on to properly evaluate his skills. Worse for Kakashi, he was the one that told Sasuke how to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan. He had meant it as a means to shock the boy into making the right choice. At the time the Uchiha had at least acted horrified and said he would never take that path. At the time he copy-nin had believed him. Naruto was currently in a critical state because of his misplaced faith in Sasuke.

Kakashi pulled himself out of his depressive thoughts as he waited here to find out if Naruto made it.

On seeing the jounin in such a tired state one of the hospital staff approached him. "Is there something I can get you ninja-sama?"

Turning to the nurse? Probably, it was hard to tell since he wasn't overly familiar with all the positions of the hospital staff. "No, I'm good. I'm just waiting for my student to get out of an operation. I want to make sure he's alright."

"Oh, you must be a good sensei then to worry about your student like that. If you don't mind me asking was it a training accident?"

Kakashi shook his head sadly "It was a mission that went wrong. I taught his teammate something that I shouldn't have." The word teammate was spat out like a curse. "I'm sure that you have other duties to tend too. I'll be fine, thank you for your kindness."

"Your welcome ninja-sama."

"Orderly I need your assistance." A doctor called out. The orderly quickly turned to the doctor down the hall. "What was that about?"

"I was just making sure he was ok doctor. He seems so worn down."

"Yes, that's good we can't have one of our top ninjas getting sick."

"Top ninja?"

"Yes, that's Kakashi Hatake, he's one of our village's elite jounin. He's the sensei to..." the doctor paused, he wasn't sure if the Uchiha's defection was news yet, or if the girl before him was old enough to know about the Kyuubi kid's nature. And from all reports, the kid wasn't acting like a demon. Better to play it safe. "The Uchiha. Anyways I need you to get this list of supplies from the storage areas, we are running low on the second floor and Tsunade-sama wants the ICU fully stocked by the time she's done with her current operation."

The orderly quickly took the list and complied. She was off in an hour, this was definitely one of the best jobs she could have to finish her shift. When she got home she would have to tell her mom about the jounin. Who would often lament how she didn't think that the Uchiha hair would get proper training, something to do with his teammates. Her mom would love to know that his sensei was so concerned for him.

….

Danzou was an aged ninja. He had reached kage level far quicker than most. A pace matched only by likes of Itachi Uchiha and the Yondaime (4th). Before his crippling injuries, he had only been matched by his rival. Despite them, he had kept himself fit. His combat techniques were simple and extremely effective. He had lived his whole life for the sake of the village. Only the Sandaime (3rd) had limited his influence.

The village elder had hoped Hiruzen's replacement would see the wisdom he could provide, at least as well as Hiruzen did.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Tsunade had already rejected several of his proposals. Going even further she had cut the village funding to multiple programs of his without a word or explanation. His orphan care program, that doubled as a recruiting platform for root and the villages more expendable spies, had been put under a comprehensive review. Already the fines were piling in, as were Tsunade's plants. Dozens of his personnel around the village had been put under performance reviews or outright fired.

When the elder arranged a meeting with the woman, he showed up only to find it postponed for some medical issue at the hospital. Something that should have easily been handled by someone else. She had far more important matters to deal with then every cut and bruise that she found fascinating.

The last straw had been when he attempted to get one of his clan members trained by lady Tsunade or her apprentice. Tsunade had outright refused to even consider taking on a student that didn't come see her themselves. As if anyone with a proper upbringing would even consider wasting the time of someone of Tsunade's status without going through proper channels. Then simply blocked off the possibility of her apprentice taking students because she was too busy.

Worst yet, minor policy changes reflected some of Hiruzen's more foolish policies.

Tsunade could not be trusted with the village. She clearly lacked the proper foresight to ensure that the village was safe. Let alone ensure its future dominance over the other villages.

Adding salt to the wound her relationship with the village's Jinchuriki was even worse than Hiruzen's had been. Something his co-advisers agreed with him on.

Koharu shuffled through the papers he gave his fellow advisers. "Everything seems to be in order. How soon till the training facility for the Jinchuriki is ready?"

"About a month, given the retraining he will have to undergo it is unlikely that it will be needed till nearly a year from now. A reinforced training facility here in the village can be used till such time as he is up to standard."

"What about the backups?" Homura inquired.

"I have already chosen several temporary vessels. As well as personally inspected the chakra transfer seals for the shinobi we have discussed previously. Once he is in custody, sperm samples can be extracted to be placed within the breeding vessels you two have chosen"

The other two advisers nodded in satisfaction before Koharu posed another question. "How will we get a hold of the Jinchuriki? Tsunade will not hand him over. He is also under Jiraiya's care. Who has shown an unacceptable level of concern for the Jinchuriki given his lack of care till now."

That had been a difficult issue that Danzou had sadly been stumbled on. Shisui's eye was still partially drained, more so, he would need it to train the Jinchuriki. As much as he was a buffoon, removal of the toad sage would also remove his spy network.

"Actually, I have an idea about that. One that Danzou could take advantage of to help endear the Jinchuriki's Root trainers to him." Homura said.

...

 **N/A: Thank you to flameraven for pointing out errors. I'd also like to thank my new beta NeoHummel.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(v1.2)

Finishing her wash up procedure, Tsunade sighed as she sipped the mandatory nutritional elixir for med-nin. Gagging at the awful taste, she quickly downed the 32oz's as she would a shot of alcohol. The strain on a med-nin was most of the time proportional to the severity of the wound on the patient's body. A med-nin's skill was what lessened the strain on both.

But no matter what, some of the body's natural reserves were used up. Till one of her students from the Akimichi had investigated the basis of the issue. Before then no one had figured out why. Tsunade supposed it was natural that an Akimichi clan member figured out that it had to do with food.

Right now, Tsunade was not thinking about one of her first students, long since dead.

What she was thinking about was what had caused the surgery to take so long and be so difficult. Once the operation started, Naruto's natural healing factor boosted by the Kyuubi's chakra should have made the operation easy. The doctors acting as support and giving the occasional nudge. Instead, it was the equivalent of an academy student wearing a set of Lee's weights while doing ANBU training.

In other words, near impossible and potentially deadly.

Hopefully, Naruto's was the last surgery that would be needed. They have used up even the reserve list. The fact that she put ¾ of the hospital staff on notice for retraining then fired nearly a dozen didn't help. As a head of the hospital it was the right call, but as Hokage it was short-sighted.

Shizune had uncovered that the ones that had met their standards were the ones who handled most of the emergency cases. Only a small number of nurses failed to meet minimal standards. It showed that the hospital had become a cesspool of favors and bribes. Everything that Tsunade hated about Konoha.

It wasn't all bad, Shizune had fun clearing out the hospital and making them all look like fools. The slug queen was surprised no one paid attention to who her apprentice was. Tsunade's apprentice didn't even try to cover up who she was.

It wasn't like the Sandaime (3rd) wasn't trying to clean the hospital up. But it was hard to do so from the outside. Tsunade's eyes narrowed in thought. Exactly how bad did things get, how bad were they still. Till this operation, she didn't question it, just focused on trying to improve the village. Now...

Biting her thumb to draw blood Tsunade summoned a slug.

 **"My Lady."**

"I need you to contact the toads for me. I need Jiraiya here now. It involves Naruto."

The slug took a deep breath. **"My lady, I can do that, but you know any contact between summons can be costly."**

"I know Katsuyu, but I need Jiraiya here now. I'll personally pay back any favors the toads ask in exchange." Tsunade paused, hesitant to even say what she was thinking...what she found was just wrong. She was no seal master, but she knows what she saw. "It involves Naruto's health and safety. Maybe even his life, I don't know. I need Jiraiya to tell me what I found. To hopefully tell me I'm wrong."

"Then I shall personally go to Mount Myōboku to pass the message. The toads are protective of their summoners, more than their nature should indicate." with that, the summon was gone.

…..

Shizune was often overlooked in her life. Sometimes she didn't mind. Her parents, when alive, were as attentive as they could be. Her older brother and sister naturally garnered more attention. Her bother had been one of those rare prodigies that weren't burdened by it nor lorded it over others. While her sister had suffered an, at the time, unknown ailment that required a lot of attention from everyone. Shizune's sister's natural charm and charisma only made it easier to allow her to be the center of attention. Fading into the background was just natural for Shizune, training as a kunoichi only heightened that tendency.

However, there was one person who never allowed Shizune to comply fade away, her uncle Dan.

After her parents and brother died defending the village from a surprise attack on the village, he took Shizune and her sister in. It had been Uncle Dan that had discovered her talent as a med-nin. Together they had not only diagnosed her sister but also developed a cure. At the time Shizune had done little more than managing the treatment schedule and getting supplies.

Still, Shizune was excited about it. She wanted to find more people to help. While passionate about healing people uncle Dan had poor chakra control. Bad enough that most of the jutsu needed for a proper med-nin was outside his reach.

Shizune had never forgotten the feeling she got from every patient she cured. Still more than once Shizune had considered giving up the practice of medicine. Most of the time following losing a patient. It was a near constant struggle on the road with Lady Tsunade.

However, Shizune never had a patient that she didn't want to treat.

Till now.

Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last two of his clan, village traitor and the one who tried to kill her little brother figure.

All his injuries had been minor. He took a beating for sure, but not one of his injuries had been severe enough to not heal on its own within less than a month. The curse seal had done more long-term damage then Naruto had. Damage Shizune had no intention of healing. She wouldn't even be in front of the traitor if she didn't need to. Unfortunately, a seal that's placed on all prisoners needed to be checked. More than anything a med-nin needed to check his chakra network to make sure the sealing worked. Currently the Uchiha was blindfolded, chained to the wall. With chakra suppression chains and his hands sealed in locking gloves with seals over them.

It would be so easy to do something to him. A healing jutsu tweaked ever so slightly could easily cause a slow painful failing of a wide range of body systems. She could easily turn Sasuke's own immune systems against him by overclocking it. Shizune was tempted too. Far more then she liked.

The voice of Shizune's patient cut through the thoughts of Tsunade's first apprentice. "Go ahead and kill me. I can feel your hatred, as pitiful as it is. You hold it back far too much to let it do anything for you. I have been robbed of my path of power, so you should at least kill me. After all, as a village traitor that is all that awaits me."

Shizune stared at the Uchiha, Naruto wouldn't like it if she killed his teammate. Lady Tsunade wouldn't be happy either... probably. Ok, only because Sasuke was her patient and killing him would mean violating her oath.

"Oh, I hate you Sasuke, after all, you tried to kill my little brother. However, he wouldn't want me to kill you, being such a forgiving soul." An evil predatory grin appeared on Shizune's face not that anyone could see it. "That doesn't mean I can't have my vengeance."

The second-best med-nin in the country and arguably second best in the world looked down at her charge with her hands glowing an eerie green. There was a lot that could go wrong with the human body that wasn't fatal. Placing her hands on Sasuke's head, a slight warming to his temple was the only sign that she did anything.

Satisfied with the justice she got for her brother, one she didn't realize that she cared so much for till she almost lost him, Shizune left not looking back.

…..

Sakura walked the hall of the hospital disenchanted. Once she had gotten word that her teammates had returned she had headed home to freshen up. She had also stopped by Ino's shop to grab a couple of flowers for both.

Team 7's kunoichi's brows narrowed in worry. She had gotten Naruto some lavenders. Specifically, because he once mentioned that he liked the smell of them. Something about a distant memory. The resulting headache Naruto got had worried even Sasuke. Considering he never got sick it was most worrying. Even if he might play up his injuries the blond never really got sick. Sakura bit her lip in thought, that was more information then she had about Sasuke-kun. He was always so closed off and guarded.

Yeah, Sasuke's attitude made him cool but Sakura was starting to suspect that he was damaged under all that coolness. Of course, the curse seal might be to blame. Surely it magnified the darkest part of Sasuke heart. After all, even a young lady as refined and gentle as her had some darkness in her own heart. Sakura was brought out of her thoughts by Kakashi-sensei's call to her.

"Sakura, are you here to see Sasuke?" her teacher asked after eyeing the flowers. He had heard multiple reports about how she had tended to him while he and the Uchiha were under the effects of the Tsukuyomi. An amount which was considered unprofessional.

Sakura's reply surprised Kakashi. "Naruto too. I got them for both, but the staff wouldn't even tell me if they know anything about Sasuke. Then the ANBU stopped me from seeing Naruto. They wouldn't even let me leave them for him."

Kakashi frowned at that. He had been allowed to see Naruto but clearly not without some supervision. Almost as if lady Tsunade was trying to determine if he was guilty of something or not. The cyclops was sure that he was guilty of a lot, but he had never been a threat to Naruto. Maybe she discovered something that was a possible threat to the retrieval team or the village.

"Tell you what Sakura I can at least make sure that Naruto gets his. Unfortunately, Sasuke is in isolation until lady Tsunade clears him."

Sakura handed over Naruto's flowers "Um Kakashi-sensei can I see Shikamaru and the others or are they isolated too."'

"I'm not sure but I can find out." seeing the way she was eyeing Sasuke's bouquet "Do you want me to give them for you too?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind Kakashi-sensei. I mean they might wilt before I get a chance to give them to Sasuke-kun."

"Sure, now run along I'm sure you have training to get back to."

Kakashi liked the way Sakura froze at the talk of training. Hopefully, it means she'd go and do some. As long as she didn't go at it at Naruto's levels it would do her good. At the very least it seemed like she had forgotten about it.

…...

Hiroshi Nohara had been serving the village all his adult life. First as a clerk, having no real talent for chakra, dreams of being a shinobi died easily. Finding out the senseless danger's shinobi exposed themselves to with the death of his brother had only strengthened his resolve about his decision being the right one and his desire to serve. The Kyuubi attack had, as tragic as it was, proved to Hiroshi that most shinobi were useless, and as a group, overinflated. For the most part needlessly throwing their lives away.

Naturally, when the majority of the civilian council members had died, Hiroshi saw his opportunity to serve his village in a more important way. Till him, nearly all members had been retired shinobi. With over half the council dead the holes would need to be filled. Gathering other like-minded individuals who wished to serve. To point the village towards a better future.

A future where shinobi didn't die in droves but did simple easy missions.

Where events like the Kyuubi attack were only handled by the one with a solution. Like the Yondaime (4th) Hokage. Hiroshi was positive if the Yondaime (4th) was left alone to do as he needed he would have come up with a solution not resulting in his death.

It was a simple thing to gain the position with his families backing. It was even easier to get his colleagues in once he had his position. A few gifts in the right place kept him unopposed. Careful management had filled the council with correct minded individuals.

Then a great thing had happened, one of the elders approached him. Elder Danzo had served the village faithfully his whole life. He had even been trained by the Nidaime (2nd) Hokage. He had come with great adoration for the work that Hiroshi did. Even saying how his work had inspired the elder to take on some students who could be the right shinobi for the job.

The elder even knew how to take the next step. With a little funding, elder Danzo could take his students to form a unit that would surpass all other forces in the elemental nations. After a few years, he could show the shinobi clans and the Hokage the path to a better tomorrow. A tomorrow were civilians didn't have to lose out to shinobi clans, simply because they had to hire their own protection.

With a bit of funding sent the elder's way, and individual council members saw results. Cheap protection that didn't hound you like most shinobi guards did. A scroll dropped off with a shipment and a foreign competitor suffered a delay. Lose a bit of the village's funding's into a charity that Danzo had a tough time finding donations for and the secrets of a foreign clan's product would find its way to you.

The best part, Danzo easily explained shinobi matters without the excessively wordy methods such as explaining chakra capacity or jutsu control ratio. No, Danzo always used easily understood methods they already agreed with. He never responded with words like can't or overly risky.

They understood one another. The civilian councilors trusted Danzo.

After all, Danzo was just like them if they had been shinobi.

Now Hiroshi had just heard the most useful news. It would have been wonderful if it didn't mean that Uchiha-sama was hurt. The Kyuubi had hurt his teammate in a fit of jealousy and rage. Enraging his teacher in the process. If they were lucky he had even defied his teacher to do so.

Finally, they had the means to get rid of the demon, maybe even killing the Kyuubi. Getting justice for all its victims. Especially of the poor boy he wore like a suit.

Thanking his secretary, Hiroshi quickly left his office to do the greatest service to the village in his life. Getting rid of the Kyuubi in human form known as Naruto Uzumaki.

….

Hinata sat in a hospital chair. A quiet sigh escaped her lips. After completing the latest assignment for the clan, the kunoichi managed to get some decent training in. Though it hadn't been long, the training Neji-niisan had developed for her was quite effective. Today's solo training had been some of the most productive Hinata could remember. Her father had spotted the end of it and even complimented her form.

Since there was one last delivery of medical supplies needed, Hinata took it herself. It afforded her the opportunity to visit the retrieval team. Visiting with Kiba and Neji-niisan had been nice, if annoying at the end. Both had come up with thinly veiled excuses to cut the visits short. Well not short per say. As she spent over an hour visiting each one. Neji-niisan was sharing a room with Lee, he was enjoying it far more than Hinata ever expected him to.

Of course, Chouji was next door to Kiba so the heiress visited with the normally pleasantly plum boy. Hinata never thought she would be worried that the Akimichi wasn't eating enough. A test had cut Hinata's visit short with him.

Now Hinata was visiting the person she wanted to see more than her teammate and beloved cousin... Uzumaki Naruto-kun. At the very least it gets Kiba and Neji-niisan off her back.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Naruto-kun was still out of it. The quick peak Hinata took of Naruto-kun's chart indicated that he would be that way for some time, as he was in a medically induced coma. At least that is what Hinata thinks it said.

Inching closer Hinata studied the lines of Naruto-kun's face. His whisker-like birthmarks were partially covered with bandages on her side. The other cheek was completely covered. His sun kissed blonde hair was only partly visible at various spots, peaking through the bandages. More bandages covered his arms. Except there where medical seals peeking through. Hinata assumed that they were to aid in healing. Though the seal work was decisively different than any other Hinata had seen before.

Channeling chakra to her ears in a way Kiba had taught her, team 8's genin kunoichi made sure no one was coming. The basic enhancement only doubled her hearing. It was enough to make sure no one would catch her. Satisfied she was safe for now she stopped the simple jutsu.

Activating her Byakugan, the Hyuga marveled at what she saw. The massive seal array that covered Naruto-kun's body was something else. Hinata could only begin to see the details of it the last few months. Beforehand, the natural disruption of Naruto-kun's chakra network was the only sign of it. The heiress grimaced as she unconsciously took Naruto hand.

Several seals on Naruto seemed to be eaten away at. Yet the strange red flickers of chakra appear more in those areas. Hinata deactivated her bloodline. The glow was faint, but it was enough that Hinata struggled to see anything in detail. The glare of Naruto-kun's chakra nearly blinded anything else around. It was only due to long practice trying to see through it that Hinata could get the answers to the test for the first chuunin exams while sitting next to Naruto-kun.

"Why do you have those seals Naruto-kun and who placed them there? Do you even know? I wish I was stronger, so I could help you as you deserve."

Unknowingly Hinata's actions and confession were witnessed by Shizune who was there almost since she showed up.

…...

Jiraiya made his way quickly to Tsunade's office after being contacted by Ma and Pa. The toad summoner wrapped up his latest actions with his spy network. Luckily his contact had been one that was fairly high in his network. He had been preparing her to meet the gaki.

Depending on when they meet up in the trip she'd be giving Naruto a proper introduction to seduction as well as welcoming him to manhood. Jiraiya had no doubt that with a few years Naruto would meet her standards for such things.

Still, such nice pleasant lecherous thoughts were quickly overshadowed by worry. For Tsunade to send a message through their summons... If Naruto wasn't one of the toad summoners, then there would have been a huge price to pay. If the contact was between almost any other summons than the toads there would still be a price to pay for the slugs. Politics for the summoning tribes was even more cutthroat than with shinobi. The distance between the different summon tribes was probably the only thing stopping a war from breaking out among them.

Jiraiya slowed down just enough to allow his ANBU pursuers to see him and his signal for confirming his identity. You'd think years of chasing Naruto around would have had the young pups in better shape. 'At least the real ANBU had done better than Danzo's dolls.' the Sannin couldn't help but muse.

"If you're done scaring half the village and playing with the ANBU, get in here and shut the window." Tsunade half yelled, her voice leaving no room for rebuttal. Jiraiya readily complied, putting up a custom privacy seal at the Hokage's signal. Combined with the one she put up when the window was closed, and they were guaranteed absolute privacy. Even from any bugs that might be there.

Jiraiya stood at attention. Gone was the fool and lecher. All that was left was the toad sage of the Sannin, loyal soldier of Konoha. One who was all but an extension of his Hokage's will. The same soldier who had left his godson behind, so he could keep him and the village safe beyond its walls. It was only right that he was like that as he stood before the Hokage's desk, as only one thing sat behind the Hokage's desk, the Godaime (5th) Hokage.

"Roughly 5 days ago Sasuke Uchiha tried to defect to Orochimaru. I sent the only available individuals I could without further comprising village security after him. Freshly promoted chuunin Shikamaru Nara lead a squad of genin consisting of Kiba Inuzuka with his partner, Chouji Akimichi, Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki.

They met heavy resistance consisting of Orochimaru's curse seal users. When I didn't receive any reports back after 4 hours, I requested aid from a Suna squad in the village while I had Shizune prepare a unit made up of three med squads as well as any returning shinobi, mostly consisting of ANBU, that could be mission ready in two hours.

Rock Lee had decided to check himself out of the hospital to render aid to the retrieval team. He and Gaara of the sand fought what was, from reports, most likely an A-rank shinobi who acted as sounds reinforcement. The jounin died from an unknown cause during the fight. Chouji and Neji both managed to defeat their opponents with near-suicidal moves, both are in recovery. Kiba was planning a kamikaze attack to defeat his opponent when Kankuro of the sand came to his rescue and finished off Kiba's opponent. Temari provided similar aid to Shikamaru who was in a stalemate with his opponent.

Upon hearing of Sasuke's defection Kakashi left before I could order him to take charge of the backup unit that Shizune had gathered. Apparently, this was a good thing, as he arrived just in time to stop Sasuke from finishing off Naruto. Sasuke had already shoved a Chidori (Thousand Birds) though Naruto's chest at this time. The attack barely missed destroying Naruto's heart thanks to his Kyuubi enhanced regeneration. As it was, Sasuke destroyed two of four chambers of Naruto's heart, tearing into a third.

Anyone besides an Uzumaki Jinchuriki would have died. As it was, I nearly lost Naruto a dozen times during his operation. His operation was complicated by the reason I called you back here. Naruto has multiple seals throughout his body. Someplace inside of him. Thank the log none seemed to be incorporated into his chakra network like the Kyuubi. However, they seemed to be strategically placed on top of key coils and his gates. With the inclusion of the Yondaime (4th)'s seal, I believe all of Naruto's gates are covered by a seal."

Tsunade tossed a scroll at Jiraiya as she finished speaking. "That's all I was able to determine from my exams. As well as notes from the operation. However, you're the expert, so I leave it up to you to determine what they are as well as their removal."

Jiraiya opened the scroll just as Tsunade's office door opened breaking both privacy barriers. Tsunade's guards could be seen grappling with a couple of ANBU, most likely Root, since none of her ANBU would be so stupid. Tsunade's advisers came through the door, both Homura and Koharu had scowls on their faces.

"Tsunade, the council has been convened for over 20 mins, why are you not there?" Homura demanded. His contempt was clear in his voice.

Tsunade signaled Jiraiya to stand down. Her fellow Sannin never liked them. He was ready to remove them from the village for their disrespect alone. It was enough for Jiraiya to act on a long-standing grudge that only went one way. One that the Godaime never knew the source of.

"I wasn't there because I rescheduled the meeting for two hours from now. Unlike some I have duties beyond looking out for my own self-interests." it's not like Tsunade didn't have reason to dislike the two herself, especially Koharu. The woman made Tsunade's youth a living hell. Mostly out of contempt for her grandmother. While alive Mito Senju nee Uzumaki had more influence over the Hokage's, often against Koharu's own advice.

The two advisers shared a look before replying, it didn't matter who said it, they were of practically one mind. "Very well Tsunade, we shall reconvene then. After all, some of us care about the village more than the next bottle of sake."

They then left, not even bothering to shut the door behind them. The ANBU disengaged with Tsunade's guards.

"I don't like this hime. They left to easily."

"I agree, and that open retort at the end. Neither one had ever reacted to an insult or bait I gave. You were the only of the three of us to get a reaction out of them."

Jiraiya nodded "I'll have a couple of your ANBU follow them."

"I already have a few looking into them. I'm still learning the black ops. I kept everyone on since they were loyal to sensei but..."

Jiraiya nodded, they were both out of the village a long time. Too long to earn loyalty or trust, which needs to go both ways. Forced to rely on people they didn't know or who knew them.

…...

Shizune's eyes widened before narrowing, lady Tsunade was pissed. Not just pervert blasting, building destroying pissed. That kind of anger she let go of as quick as she got it.

No this was the kind of anger that she didn't simply lose. It was the same kind that lead her to completely destroy that one loan shark. Shizune shuddered at the memory. The fact the Sannin did it while so drunk she could barely stand was the worst part. Since Lady Tsunade was rarely more than buzzed these days the med-nin pitied whoever made her Master this angry.

The Hokage tower secretary followed the Hokage into her office.

Tsunade flopped unceremoniously in her chair." the bastards are exiling him."

"Who my lady?"

"Naruto, they're exiling Naruto. I already sent a message to the Daimyo asking him to overturn it. One of the bastards let it slip that they have the Daimyo's backing."

"What... why?"

"They're using the fact he used the Kyuubi's chakra during the chuunin exams and against the traitor as an excuse. I don't know the real reason. Worse, when I was operating on Naruto I found log knows how many seals on him. Jiraiya is analyzing the matrix now. The only good news so far is that the traitor did a favor trying to kill him. Jiraiya found the remnants of a termination seal on Naruto."

Shizune's eyes went wide before filling with rage. "What are we going to do?" her tone giving clear indication that 'nothing' was not an acceptable answer.

"Try to get it overturned for now. If we can't by the time he's kicked out...well I came back to clean up this cesspool of a village because of Naruto. I'm not going to completely abandon him now."

…..

Shizune was a talented medic, if Tsunade hadn't been wasted more often than not while they traveled then she would have definitely been close to her master's level at the same age. As it was she was still one of the top 100 medics on the planet. More than anything, that had to do with Shizune's analytical skills, making her a natural tactician and a brilliant researcher. All her abilities made her a great secretary for the Hokage.

Currently, the Hokage's pupil was using all those skills to track down any information on why the village elders and the Daimyo would want to exile Naruto from the village. The picture she got wasn't a good one.

She came to only one conclusion, that both parties wanted a weapon. Her search brought her back to a piece of information she had overheard only a few days ago. If the Hyuga heiress had discovered the extra seal on Naruto-kun, had anyone else? As it seemed that no one else had noticed the seals, why had Hinata? The official answer would be the girls feeling for Naruto. But there were a few other issues with that. Best to learn about the girl who had an interest in her brother.

Shizune's search had brought her back to a place that she hadn't been to since she was a child. The Konohagakure shinobi academy, specifically, to Naruto's chuunin teacher. The man was insanely easy to find. He worked late when others had gone home long ago. Knocking once before entering the open classroom, Shizune saw Iruka stand up to great her.

"How can I help you... um?"

"Shizune is fine Umino-san."

"Then you can just call me Iruka." the teacher replayed.

Nodding Shizune said "I need some information on two of your former students. One that I believe you are close to."

Iruka body language shifted from open and friendly to guarded, ready to attack or defend. "I'm sorry but if you want any information on my student, former or current, you need to go through the proper channels through the Hokage's tower to get the records."

The med-nin simply smiled as she replied "Actually, I already looked at their official records, their complete records. Naruto-kun's was particularly enlightening. Outside of your notes, they seemed to be very shortsighted. A few even seemed completely made up knowing Naruto-kun like I do, even if it might be for a short time.

I was hoping to get some information that wouldn't go in a report."

The academy teacher eyed the kunoichi before him. Her tone was very pleasant. Far to pleasant for dealing with someone who had a problem with Naruto. Even the ones who tried to be nice to get what they wanted tended to spit out Naruto's name. Combined with a few other things he had been told by the blond combined to fill in this woman's identity, the academy teacher paled.

"Uh you wouldn't happen to be the Shizune that is Hokage-Osama's apprentice, would you?" Iruka hesitantly asked.

Shizune smile grew as she replied "why, yes I am."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I mean, I thought... if I knew you were on business for Hokage-sama I wouldn't have acted that way." the blushing teacher stuttered out an apology.

The med-nin simply waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm not here on official business. I'm here as a..." Shizune paused to consider her words. "I guess an overly nosy older sister looking to butt into her little brother's life. Particularly his romantic life."

Iruka sighed "Yes Naruto really does have a crush on Sakura Haruno and no I don't have any idea why. Yes, Sakura does have that big of a crush on Sasuke and I don't know why he never followed through on his threats for a restraining order on her."

Tsunade's apprentice coughed trying not to choke on air at the teacher's deadpan answer. "um... thank you but the other student isn't Sakura-san. Besides his crush on her isn't that big."

Iruka just tilted his head in a very Naruto like manner. "Really? Cause I'm pretty sure that Naruto does like Sakura a lot." he only declared it every day while in the academy after all.

"Trust me, it's a woman's thing. The other former student is Hyuga Hinata."

The man blinked in surprise "Sure, I'll answer anything I can. Though, she was close to Kurenai Yuuhi, even before she became Hinata's jonin sensei."

"I already talked to her, but you were her academy teacher, so given her crush on him I was hoping you might have seen something else?" Shizune replied.

"Crush? you know that explains a lot now that I think about it." the teacher replied in wonder. "I wonder when she developed it?"

"You're telling me you were their teacher and you didn't know? Men!" the kunoichi replied in a huff. It was pretty obvious to anyone who saw Hinata near Naruto. The little digging around Shizune did made that abundantly clear.

"I was their teacher, and I had over 30 other students to worry about. Between Naruto's pranks and trying to stop the 4th shinobi war breaking out over who Sasuke Uchiha was really in love with, I was a bit busy." Iruka weakly defended himself.

It was a pretty good excuse. Shizune had heard from multiple sources how bad, or grand, depending on who you were talking to, Naruto's pranks had been. ANBU reports verified that the blond's stories on his pranks were toned down if anything. Unfortunately for Iruka, Shizune wasn't in the mood to be reasonable with this subject. She needed information.

"You don't have anything for me? Nothing at all?" Shizune asked in a tone as sweet of syrup and as deadly as snake venom.

"No there is nothing I'm allowed to tell you" the academy teacher squeaked out.

Shizune instantly latched on to the teacher's slip. "What do you mean allowed?"

The nervous man was suddenly gone and a loyal leaf chuunin was all that stood there. "I am sorry Shizune, but without a direct order from Hokage-sama, I won't divulge anything. Not only as a leaf shinobi but as an older brother trying to protect his brother."

The med-nin did some quick mental gymnastics. While the teachers shift in attitude threw her off, there was more to this than she thought. Lady Tsunade wouldn't hesitate to order the teacher to spill his guts, especially with Naruto's potential exile. If Iruka was truly doing what he thought was best for Naruto, Shizune didn't want to force him to do otherwise. There were enough forces out to get Naruto without those who had his best interest at heart fighting each other.

"Fine, before I bring this to lady Tsunade's" the med-nin flashed though hand signs at a rapid pace, quickly casting a genjutsu and sensory jutsu to hide their talk. "anyone who comes in here won't hear anything. While any who dispels the genjutsu should warn me of their presence by the jutsu I cast.

I want to know if what you know is even worth bringing to the Hokage and having her order you to talk. Given some recent events, we don't have time to waste on things lady Tsunade already knows. I just want you to answer my questions honestly is that alright?"

Thinking a monument Iruka confirmed that it was.

"Alright then, is the information that you have anything to do with why Hinata is on a list that would allow ANBU guards to permit her to see him? A list that only exists for critical village personnel. Usually reserved for spouses or the children of such individuals. Why there are standing orders to not allow Hinata to know Naruto is being guarded by ANBU or that she even has such access?"

Iruka closed his eyes clearly struggling with a decision. A resolute look coming over his face after making it.

"To be honest I don't know. I am probably not aware of how much I know. All I really know for sure is that after Naruto and I worked out some issues, the Sandaime (3rd) came to me. He wanted me to keep special tabs on Hinata." the teacher stopped to order his thoughts for a moment. "He also asked me to leak to her if Naruto was hurt or sick. At the time I thought lord Hokage was trying to use her as a relay for someone in the Hyuga clan if such a thing happened. Now thinking it over I think Sandaime (3rd) wanted to give Hinata a chance to act if the time came."

Shizune considered this before bowing "thank you Iruka. I'll try getting you a chance to see Naruto. I'll send a runner either way if I don't come myself."

"Thank you, how bad was Naruto hurt. If I may ask?" worry clearly laced this voice.

"I don't know for sure as I worked on other members of the team. But lady Tsunade did say if it was anyone else Naruto-kun wouldn't be so lucky."

With that Tsunade's first apprentice left leaving a slight frustrated and worried Iruka behind.

…...

Tsunade settled down behind her desk, content to do some of her paperwork. The fact that she actually wanted to get her paperwork done spoke volumes about how bad things were. A tick mark appeared on the Sannin's face as she noticed the hidden door to the Hokage's private study slightly open. Whoever the fool in there was, they would get a beating.

Using her rusty stealth skills Tsunade got up and made her way to the door pushing it open just enough to peek inside.

"Jiraiya what the hell are you doing in my study?" Tsunade's tone indicating a beating was still an option.

"Looking through the files on sealing. I need to sort through the different sealing languages to help determine the individual seals on Naruto. We're lucky Naruto's so naturally resistant and I'm so skilled. I counted 20 individual seals so far. One which is weaved in and around the other seals including the one holding the Kyuubi." Jiraiya stated dryly.

"Is the Kyuubi seal in danger?"

After shifting between notes and one of the scrolls he had the Sannin replayed. "No, in fact, Orochimaru did more damage to it than all the other seals did. Luckily the Kyuubi's seal seemed to recover slightly. We can thank how well it's integrated into Naruto's chakra network for that."

Tsunade looked out as she heard footsteps approaching "Hello Shizune, what's that look for? Last time I saw you look like that, you set up that Daimyo's daughter in the town we were staying in in river country with that baker's son... what did you find out about Naruto? Spill it."

"Um who else is here beside you lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked nervously

"Just the pervert."

"And ANBU guards." said pervert added, Tsunade's apprentice's eyes lighting up at that.

"Alright guys show yourself so Shizune can interrogate you or get out." the Hokage declared.

Jiraiya poked his head out from behind the Godaime just in time to see 3 ANBU materialize and for one to come through the window, each distinctively nervous.

"Actually, Lady Tsunade, I believe you will have to do some interrogation. I already discovered several standing orders from the Sandaime. Specifically involving Naruto-kun and the Hyuga heiress."

The squad of ANBU began to sweat as Jiraiya was suppressing a giggle.

"Tell me now!" Tsunade growled out to the ANBU. instantly they all knelt before the Hokage.

"It is a standing order from the Hokage to ANBU black ops. To ensure that Hyuga Hinata has access to Naruto-kun... and to record any moments for teasing opportunity." Cat replied.

"Unfortunately, till the chuunin exams, nothing much happened. Personally, I blame her bastard of a father for that." Rooster added with disappointment.

"I see... I want complete copies of those orders, till I say otherwise they stand." Tsunade ordered.

"Thank you Hokage-sama" the elite guards replied.

"Of course, I want complete copies of what you currently have as well." Tsunade did her best to suppress a girlish squeal at the thought. She could already picture them. They are so cute together!

"As much as I hate to interrupt plans for potential research opportunities. All we'll do is give the poor girl a heart attack if we don't do something about the council's banishment of Naruto. I was planning on taking the brat with me for training. But I'm not exactly comfortable with it till I know what those old fools have planned. I prefer to know what exactly I'm walking into before going into a trap." Jiraiya's statement killed the mood instantly.

The ANBU replied in shock and outrage to the banishment of the blond.

"Quiet, I'm not exactly planning on abandoning Naruto on his own. I have Asuma going to see the Daimyo right now. With luck, he will back me in reversing the decision and it will be a moot point. We have never banished a shinobi before now, let alone one that succeeded in his mission."

"If he doesn't hime?"

"I'll do what's best for Naruto given the scenario."

…...


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to Darth Tenibris who apparently loves my writing enough to send me messages all day about it and message me for three weeks. Then read and review on two more.

Chapter 3

(v1.1)

One thing Ino Yamanaka prided herself on was information gathering. Her clan was the foundation upon which the leaf village built its intelligence activities on after all. Though such things did not come without a heavy price to pay. Ibiki Morino could perform the basic Yamanaka jutsu better than all but the clan head and the clan elders. That had been a shock to Ino. Yet according to her father, good was coming out of it. The Yamanaka clan was working to master their hidden jutsu to a level never seen before.

After all, the only thing scarier than someone who seemed like they could read your mind was someone who actually could.

The Shintenshin no Jutsu was a good beginning for such abilities as becoming sensors. For the Yamanaka clan, it was the first jutsu taught in the clan and perfect for their goal. No one could stop their mind from being active. Even shielding one's mind leaves a trackable impression on the surrounding area. Ironically, it screamed out a person's location louder than if a person left their mind completely open.

At least that was what Ino was told. She was dearly hoping that it was true. Finding someone who was trying to shield their mind or making a breakthrough into reading minds was her best hope of finding the source of the rumor. One that was completely ridiculous.

Unfortunately, while Ino was pretty sure that her sensory abilities were growing, the ability to read minds seemed far out of reach.

Ino was sipping tea as she got a general sense of a buzzing or whisper behind closed a door. Yes, almost like different whispers behind closed doors is the best way she could describe it. Pictures of small flames were beginning to appear in her mind. The Yamanaka was sure that if she could just intensify the crackling of the flames she could pick up the individual thoughts. Sadly, all that her efforts seemed to be doing was giving herself a headache.

Dropping her jutsu, Ino sighed as she took a bit of her cinnamon roll, humming from the taste. Hinata had been right, it was really good. It was almost worth ruining her diet over it. She had been working hard, so she supposed it was ok.

Ino froze mid-bite as she felt eyes on her. Turning she spotted Ibiki staring at her. The genin did her best to hide her nervousness as she finished her mouth full, then did her best to return the slight glare back at the integrator.

Naturally, this only caused the man to chuckle. The interrogation expert crossed the street and took the seat across from Ino.

"You were using your clans jutsu, specifically to try and develop your sensory abilities." It wasn't a question but a simple statement of fact. A brief green glow and the man lifted his hand towards team ten's kunoichi. Relief flooded Ino as the dull ache that was building went away.

"You shouldn't use your chakra for the rest of the day. At least not without getting a proper med-nin to check your network. You probably strained some of your minor coils around your head." Ino nodded, at a loss for words. "Now, would you like to tell me what was so important that you had to not only strain your chakra network but also cause chakra flares in those around you?"

Ino was struck by how different this Ibiki was then the one she first encountered. He almost gave this sense of an uncle that you confided all your secrets to.

"Um, I was training in some of my clans jutsu." Ino felt like she had been caught stealing cookies before dinner.

"Your sensory abilities I assume." Ino nodded.

"What else?"

"I was trying to see if I could pick up some information to trace back a rumor I heard. I was hoping to trace it back to the source, then expose it."

The interrogation head nodded in understanding. It wasn't a bad plan. Left a lot up to chance but if Ino had no other leads it was worth a shot. More so, true mind reading was pretty advanced stuff, even for the Yamanaka clan. On the other hand, they needed to turn such skills into basics if they were to advance and survive as a major clan.

"What rumor, maybe I can help clear things up. If there are rumors that the gossip queen of Konohagakure wants to expose I think it might be worth my attention in the interest of village security. The source could easily be a spy or the start of a propaganda campaign migrating into the village."

Ino didn't want to repeat such nasty rumors. Ibiki had a point that she hadn't considered. This was normally the kind of thing she would go to her daddy with, then let him decide if it was important enough to officially get involved or not. Given he was on a mission Ino decided to try and handle it herself.

"Fine, but I want to know who did it, so I can properly discredit them." Ino replied with a huff.

"We'll see, genin." "The rumor is that Naruto went totally off on the mission to retrieve Sasuke-kun. That the Hokage is isolating him for everyone's safety and she is so mad that she is exiling him from the village. I mean come on no one gets in trouble for completing a mission..." completing it was the best way to get out of trouble for screwing up a mission for a reason. " then Naruto of all people, it's just ridiculous. Sure, he can be super obnoxious but pay him a bit of attention and he calms right down.

Not to mention according to some of the more credible rumors, Hokage-sama came back because of something he did. Then add that the Sandaime and he were supposed to be really close. The Honorable grandson practically worships Naruto."

"Hmm, you're doing this for someone that you find obnoxious?" Ibiki inquired.

This time Ino managed to give a good glare. "He's just a friend, barely at that. More so we aren't exactly each other's types. My teammates were on that mission, if rumors start spreading to Naruto of all people then who knows how long till it spreads to other people." Ino liked to gossip but this was pointless cruel rumor mongering.

Ibiki eyed Ino for a moment, then made his decision. "First some advice. If what you're trying to do works as I think it will, start with targeting one person. Your mind's going to try and shy away from pulling it off as it is. We all don't think the same, you are going to have to get used to different ways of thinking to understand what you pick up.

Study medical ninjutsu, you're going to need to understand how the mind functions to advance at the jutsu. Both the way people think and the physical function of the mind. Your clan gave you a good start, branch out and build on that foundation.

Multiple targets are good for developing sensor abilities, but for the leap you're trying to make, you need to zero in on one person."

Ino nodded eagerly, the advice made sense. Trying to do too much was probably her problem. You couldn't focus on what everyone was saying in a crowd.

"Now for the last thing, unfortunately, I can confirm that Naruto is up for exile." Ibiki held up a hand silencing Ino's outburst. "if you want details ask your father. Uzumaki did not go off mission. He's being isolated for his protection. Lady Tsunade is fighting the exile vigorously." the torturer expert shuddered at the memory of his own grilling by the Hokage over it. Getting up, the renowned torturer put down some money, just enough to cover Ino's meal. "One last thing, your loyalty does your heritage proud."

With that Ibiki left leaving Ino alone with her thoughts.

…...

Asuma put out his cigarette on his boot before field stripping it then pocketing the butt. It wouldn't do to litter in the Daimyo's personal garden. The former 12 guardian kneeled as he spotted the lord he swore to protect approaching, getting the scroll from lady Tsunade out in the process.

The Daimyo was a thin man in his late forties, the signs of age starting to show past the efforts to hide it. His kimono was simply a design you might find in any civilian farmers closet. The material, however, was far finer than any farmer could hope to afford. Even the Hyuga, the richest clan in Konoha, would struggle to buy such an outfit.

Asuma knew the man well. Despite the dull look in the man's eye that gave the impression that he couldn't bother to pay attention to anything for more than a sec, he was sharp. The Lord took everything in at a moment's notice. Just like many shinobi do, the Daimyo had learned to exaggerate some traits, like his flamboyant tendencies, and hide others, mostly his sharp mind. Many criticize the ruler for making snap decisions. Asuma knew that not to be true. For every decision he made, he had at least five reasons for it that he could name on the spot.

The Sarutobi jounin had long wondered if the Daimyo wasn't related to the Nara in some way. As Daimyo, no one was really in the position to question and find out for sure. Asuma had tried to find out, putting it up as a bet in multiple shogi matches, but he never won those matches.

The Daimyo's words brought the jounin out of his thoughts. "Speak my friend, what does lady Tsunade wish of me?" the leader of the land of fire asked. Though his tone indicated that he knew exactly why Asuma was there.

"Lady Tsunade believes you were sent incomplete information by someone. This leading you to grant a request that was not this individual's place to make. A request that can inflict grievous harm to one of our most promising shinobi. I bring further information and the humblest request to rescind the order. To at least postpone the exile of one Uzumaki Naruto until such time that all relative information can be presented to you so we may be graced with your righteous ruling." Asuma asked as humbly as he could. He knows his father must be rolling in his grave over this.

The Daimyo only stared at Asuma and the scroll as he pulled out a fan from his sleeve. Fanning himself, the ruler contemplated his reply.

"Hmmm, such a thing does have merit. However, is it not also true that the boy is hated by most. If such parties would overstep their bounds using Tsunade's current limitations in power as a shield, perhaps it is best for all involved that young Naruto leave. Yes, if he leaves Konoha then the fires of hatred unjustly aimed at him can burn out. Sometimes you must give ground in order to win the game." the fire Daimyo replayed.

"My lord only a single drop is needed to change the tide. That drop has long since been deposited in the waters. The beginnings of the change seen. Those who had remained silent now speak up in Naruto's defense. More so, to exile him over the only honor shinobi have, the success of the mission. What does that say about the leaf or land." Asuma pleaded.

"But were could he go?" the Daimyo asked seemingly ignoring Asuma. "Ah what if he came here? Yes, yes that would work. Young Naruto could learn that the people of his land appreciate the sacrifice he has made. The sacrifices his family and clan have made for us.

We can do that here and much more. Preparations for more can be made as well. The son of a Hokage, a favorite of two others. The last scion of the greatest ally our people have known. Yes, surely one as brash as him will come and seek me out, to prove himself to me, his lord.

If he only got it into his head to come here I am sure that I can provide suitable lodgings for one such as himself. Perhaps even a noble title given his esteemed lineage and noble bearing would be appreciated. If he so desired I would even work to reclaim his ancestral home for him." the Daimyo spoke with an almost jolly tone before turning serious. His eyes boring into Asuma. "If only someone would plant the idea into his head that he would be welcome. No Asuma my friend I will abide by my decision. Tell Tsunade that the ruling is now an order. It is to be carried out before the next new moon. I will be sending a group to make sure that it is done by then. I am sure young Naruto would like to know of any sanctuary you know of.

Leave me, I wish to be left alone with the weight of my decisions." the lord of the land of fire declared.

With a clenched fist and with dread in his heart Asuma left at his best speed.

…...

Slowly Neji walked down the stairs, his discharge papers in hand. Coming to the hospital lobby he froze as his eyes were met with an angry glare. The glare was given with the full ferocity of the person giving it. That of an angry kitten.

"Hinata-sama, I did not realize you would be here. Are you going to visit Uzumaki?" Neji nervously asked.

"No, I am here to escort you home. Since you were instructed to wait for someone from the clan to see you home." the fact that Hinata was hoping to get in a quick visit to Naruto-kun first was completely irrelevant. Neji's health was more important.

"Well, I'm feeling fine, one might even say..."

"Youthful!"

The Hyuga genius ignored the random outburst as it had nothing to do with him...nothing at all. "I'm all better."

Hinata's slight scowl slowly shifted into a small smile. Neji stiffened, Hinata was already on stage two. He had never seen anything higher than stage 3 and only seen the aftermath of the mystical stage 4. Hiashi-sama claimed there was a stage 5 but no one else had seen it, as of yet. Before opening his eyes to his own actions and the world around him he had dismissed the whole thing. Now he wouldn't be so sure to dismiss such a thing.

"There is no way that you're fully recovered nii-san. I'm sure that the pain meds are making you slightly delirious." Hinata chipperly replied. This somehow sent a chill up everyone who heard its spine.

"My, my, aren't you a feisty one, a real cutie too." a voice from behind Hinata said.

Naturally, Hinata reacted with grace and dignity befitting her station.

"Eep!"

Turning and nearly falling, Hinata saw a white-haired man in his late 40's or early 50's. His most identifying feature was the Hitai-ate with the kanji for oil on it.

"J-Jiraiya-sama" Hinata stuttered out in surprise. Neji had moved at this point to support his red-faced cousin.

The Sannin pouted a bit at being denied a chance to make his entrance. He quickly dismissed that with the realization that the only reason that he didn't get the chance was that he was so well known.

"You're quick there little hime." Jiraiya replayed with a smile. Neji visibly relaxed but didn't completely drop his guard.

"You two wouldn't happen to be friends with my apprentice, would you?" Jiraiya asked with a knowing smirk.

"I wasn't aware that you had an apprentice master Jiraiya. Who is he?" Neji asked, he knew the Sannin's reputation, both good and bad. While her safety wasn't an issue he wouldn't trust the Sannin to do other things that were less than honorable with Hinata. He couldn't help but have a thrill at the prospect of fighting someone who Jiraiya took on as an apprentice.

Jiraiya ignored the branch members glare that was trying to hide the thrill of a challenge. He might be a pervert, but he had standards. Given her age, she didn't quite measure up to his standards. In a few years most definitely, but not now.

"Given it is a recent development I'm not surprised it hasn't gotten around yet. As for who he is well you did bring him up to try and distract your sister."

"N-Naruto-kun is your a-apprentice," Hinata said in shock. No, that look was more of pride and satisfaction. Jiraiya was sure of it. He'd seen that same look on Kushina's face when Minato mastered the Hiraishin and was nominated Hokage.

"Yes, he is little hime. I could use a little help from someone capable of seeing hidden seals and can keep a secret for him." the spymaster replayed.

Hesitantly Hinata spoke up. "Umm I-I can see seals master Jiraiya."

"Excellent, then I need you to come with me. Your bother can come too. I need you both to keep this quiet though." the Konoha spy master ordered sternly.

Both Hyuga instantly nodded, then followed Jiraiya without hesitation. Satisfied, the toad sage leads the way to Naruto's room. As they made their way through the hospital Jiraiya discreetly eyed both Hyugas. The boy was a branch member and, if he remembers correctly, Naruto's opponent in the chuunin exams. That would make the girl the clan heiress. The one sensei had an interest in. Once they reached Naruto's room he waved off the hidden ANBU guards outside his door. That didn't seem to alleviate the masked shinobi's nervousness.

The toad summoner took out a scroll before turning to Hinata. "Ok, what I need is for you to try to identify the seal styles in this scroll compared to the ones on Naruto."

Hinata nodded a look of pure determination on her face. As she took the offered scroll Neji spoke up. "Jiraiya-sama, if Uzumaki is covered in seals why do you need a Hyuga to look at them. Is that not your area of expertise?" he was hoping to find out why they were there. Outside of the one that the red chakra came from he hadn't seen any others on the blond during their match.

"Naruto only has one that is integrated into his chakra network, getting a direct feed. The rest simply rely on chakra bleeding into them. Outside of the one on his stomach, he is not supposed to have any on him. The problem is, because of that, when I feed chakra into an area that Naruto has seals on, every seal in that area lights up. If you would pour enough into them every seal would pick up the extra chakra. Some are even overlapping, bleeding into each other. They are not even on Naruto's skin, some are below his skin.

On top of that, they're in different sealing languages, removing them is like unknotting 20 different ropes, each attached to an explosive tag. Disarm one and you risk another one going off. Then, several are highly degraded or so poorly done that you'd expect it was done by a blind person. This could be either good or bad depending on what the seals are supposed to do." Neji nodded taking the Sannin at his word.

"But what you really want to know is why you didn't see them while you fought." Neji's eyes widened in surprise at being seen though so easily. "Relax kid, you may be a genius, but I've been around for longer than all three of you Gaki's put together."

Neji did relax a bit at that. Looking over at Hinata as she worked there was visible frustration and anger building. The Sannin understood why, after all, she hadn't moved beyond the first section of the scroll. The one dealing only with Konoha's sealing styles.

"To answer your question, I suspect a couple of reasons. Particularly that seal on your forehead and your subconscious desire not to see the thing every time you look at another Hyuga or yourself. The other being that most are not integrated into Naruto's chakra network in some way. If they did light up it would have been only briefly.

As for what the seals are doing, most are so incompetently done that I don't think they do anything at all. Expect act as fancy chakra weights. If it was anyone other than Naruto I would consider leaving them, since it would take someone mixing both mine and Tsunade's specialties to tell if they were really doing any issues to him. It is the seal that is supposed to be on Naruto that makes it a concern." Till he decoded the seal languages and figured out what each seal is supposed to do it would be purely subjective if they were doing any harm to Naruto. With the exile cutting into their time frame, he has to figure that out. Jiraiya could only remove what he could and hope for the best. He would probably have to consult with Tsunade afterwards, when he had a clearer picture, so they could minimize the risks to Naruto's health.

"Jiraiya-sama I... I think I identified the different sealing languages..." Hinata said a blush on her face. While she worked she couldn't help but admire Naruto-kun's form. She was helping him to recover. Surely Naruto-kun wouldn't mind her getting a little satisfaction from her job. So what if her dreams were going to be a bit more explicit from now on. She had to make sure that there weren't any seals placed any were that she might miss. Especially somewhere that might hinder his... maximum potential being reached.

Boy, what a potential it was!

Shame burned in Hinata, she really shouldn't have read that book that Kiba gave her while stuck in the hospital after the chuunin exams. If only she could figure out how to get Jiraiya-sama to sign it without anyone knowing.

"O.k. How did you mark them?"

Hinata shifted nervously before a peculiar look overcame her. "Well, I used the gates as a reference, then his limbs, then organs."

The Sannin nodded, the code was simple and easy enough to figure out. It would only take him a few moments at most to locate the individual seals. Looking at the heiress' face it spoke volumes. She was hiding something, holding back because of fear on how he would react.

"What is it little hime? I don't care if you think the log placed the seals on Naruto I need to know." Jiraiya said in a commanding voice.

"W-well one of the seals, the one on his stomach, I couldn't identify. It is close to the villages style but not quite right." Hinata started off.

"He's supposed to have that one. If you want to know why then you need to ask him yourself. What are you holding back?" Jiraiya demanded.

"The writing style of the seal that connects most of the seals on Naruto-kun I-I... th-think I recognize it." Hinata said meekly. "it matches the Sandaime Hokage's. At least I think so..." she spoke barely above a whisper. It didn't make any sense, why would the Hokage do such a thing, Naruto-kun always seemed so close to him.

Jiraiya sighed, he thought the handwriting matched his old sensei's writing. Hinata's confirmation was worrisome. "I take it you compared it to his signature from mission scrolls?" the Sannin asked despite already knowing the answer. Hoping they were both wrong, he got a demure nod in reply. "Alright, Tsunade's going to make this bit of information a secret most likely. Assume S-rank till you hear otherwise. I'd treat all of this today like that if I was you to be safe."

Getting acknowledgment from both shocked Hyuga's, Jiraiya dismissed them leaving him alone with his work.

…...

Asuma was sweating and near complete exhaustion. He had to rush to get back to the village at top speed. With his return, he was escorted to the Hokage just as quickly. The Jounin did his best to take slow deep breaths even as sweat poured off of him. A task that was made infinitely easier by Tsunade's green glowing hand on his back.

"Thank you Lady Tsunade." Asuma breathed out in a tired weary voice. His muscle fatigue was quickly dissipating.

"Not an issue Asuma, I'm assuming that since you rushed back here so quickly it's not good news." the Hokage stated as she moved back to behind her desk.

"No, it's not my lady. The Daimyo will not change his mind. Instead, he is offering Naruto sanctuary in the capital, training, his heritage, even a noble title and reclaiming Uzu no Kuni in his name. The offer to Naruto for sanctuary wasn't official, it is something he simply wishes me to convey to Naruto. So that Naruto would approach the Daimyo under the guise of clearing his name." Asuma stated with remorse. It hurt to think their Daimyo would do such a thing. He couldn't fathom what his motivation was.

Tsunade's eye's shot up in shock. Whirlpool and the assorted islands were still considered to be contested territory. Several treaties were based on the fact that they stay that way. "Why do you think he is doing this? Is the Daimyo hoping to set up Naruto as one of the 12 guards?" the Hokage asked with trepidation.

"Not with the offer of a noble title. It would be considered a conflict of interest, its why no Hyuga would be offered a position in the guardians. It might be a bait and switch so that Naruto could become the head of his own son's guards, then lead the guardians when the time comes. I think there might be some doubts about the village planted in the Daimyo by this incident. In which case, his offer is true and meant to secure Naruto's safety. I do know that our Lord was less than satisfied with Naruto's schooling. Though I had been under the impression that he had been satisfied with Naruto's advancement since graduation." Asuma replied, doing his best to try and unravel the actions of his lord.

"So, in other words, not a clue." the Sannin let out a heavy sigh. "What's the reason for you rushing back? His ruling is not enough to push yourself so hard."

In fact, the longer the message took to get back, the better.

The jounin took a second struggling for a moment before replying. The information left a bad taste in his mouth he wanted to get rid of. "The reason I rushed here is that the Daimyo is sending an envoy to make sure that Naruto is out of the village by the new moon."

The Godaime Hokage let out a frustrated sigh. That was less than a week away. Jiraiya would need at least a solid month to undo all the extra seals on Naruto, minimum. Even with his recovery, it would be close to two months before he'd be mission ready for D-ranks only.

Tsunade closed her eyes in thought, there was only one option left. A sense of satisfaction ran through the last Senju as she resigned herself to her decision.

"Thank you Asuma, you're dismissed." The wind user nodded, stopping at the door.

"Lady Tsunade, if there is anything I can do to help Naruto, let me know."

"Thank you, Asuma I appreciate it, and I'm sure Naruto does too."

With that, he left the Hokage alone with her thoughts. Though it didn't stay that way for long. Once she saw the Jounin leave, Shizune came in.

"Lady Tsunade what did the Daimyo say?" Tsunade's first apprentice asked, hope clear in her voice.

"We're going with plan C, we only have 4 days to do so. Do what you need to do after informing Jiraiya." Tsunade said vengeance burning in her eyes.

…...

Jiraiya sighed as he plopped down in the chair across from Tsunade. He then put his feet on the table ignoring the slight killer intent coming from her. Instead, he unsealed two bottles of sake and pouring them each some.

Tsunade's glare lessened slightly.

After all, he did barge into her office and the table the toad summoner had his feet on was her desk. It would be his soon enough, despite both their best efforts. Neither one wanted him to be Hokage. Still, he was better than the other options. Handing the cup over, the toad summoner ignored the angry growl.

"I'm done for now with the extra seals on the gaki."

Tsunade blinked as Jiraiya downed the sake all in one go, very unlike him.

"What do you mean for now?"

"What I mean is, one of them, the one tying the different matrices together, is sensei's. Until I know where the other half is I can't risk undoing it or even touching parts of it. To clarify, the other half is not on Naruto"

Tsunade downed her cup very much like her. "So, besides all the seals placed on Naruto, Sensei placed one on him or half of one. What does this one do?" Tsunade had half a mind to use Edo Tensei to bring Sensei back to life using one of the elders as the sacrifice.

Jiraiya poured them another drink taking only a sip this time before replying. "It depends on the other half. Sensei's seal is tied to all the others. If I'm reading it right, it's supposed to strengthen the Kyuubi's seal while preventing Naruto from having more seals placed on him. The other options include destroying the extra seals using the Kyuubi's chakra that leaks into Naruto to do so. Or causing Naruto to let out pulses of chakra as some kind of shield or attack to destroy the sounding area."

If he got it really wrong, it will charge up all the seals on Naruto's body into some kind of super explosive tag. With a yield that would blow up half the land of fire to the entire elemental nations. "Those are the top options, there are easily a dozen other options. Without seeing the other half of the seal, I can't be sure."

Tsunade downed her sake in one go again and Jiraiya dutifully refilled it. A very confusing picture was being painted. One thing was clear, the Sandaime was pissed, very pissed, at the end of his life. Who he was pissed at, Tsunade wasn't sure.

Though Naruto was at the center of things, if not the target of the Sandaime's rage, or was he?

Unfortunately, most of the Sandaime's notes were riddled with half-thoughts or initials that made it impossible to understand what he was talking about. The only clue was a set of encrypted files that were tied to the Hokage's personal security. The bulk of which was still sealed from her for another 6 months. Sadly, she couldn't even have Jiraiya break into them without leaving a trace that would allow others to do the same.

A knock on her door brought Tsunade out of her thoughts, hopefully it was her next appointment. The Hokage tossed a sealed scroll to her reluctant successor. "Here, try to unseal that. It was among some of the stuff Sensei left for his possible successor in case he died. I can't open it."

After clearing a few things, she invited the guest in after clearing her desk of a few things she didn't want anyone to see.

Kurenai walked in, closing the door behind her, then saluted the village leader. "Is this a bad time Lady Tsunade? I can come back or wait if need be."

"There no need for such formalities during the meeting. You can ignore the pervert he was just annoying me as I sorted through some things, take a seat." Seeing that Jiraiya was occupying the only chair in the room, one glare later and it was free. Kurenai took the seat as the toad summoner repositioned himself next to the window. Fiddling with the scroll, a brush in hand.

"Good, first of all Kurenai, do you know why the Sandaime wanted to have this meeting, and the one a week after the chuunin exams?"

Shaking her head, the jounin responding "unfortunately not really, all I know is it somehow involved my team. I don't know any details, perhaps Iruka Umino might know, he was supposed to be involved in the first one, at least I believe so."

A snort from Jiraiya earned him a curious look from Kurenai and a shared one with his fellow Sannin. After a moment Tsunade nodded considering the point.

"Unfortunately, Iruka doesn't know anything and is unlikely to know anything private that sensei had going."

Kurenai's brows creased in thought. "Not to be disrespectful, but Iruka was known to be the Sandaime's confident, if not private student."

Tsunade took another look over at Jiraiya and seemed to ask a question. What the question was the genjutsu mistress couldn't be sure of.

"You're still Hokage hime, it's your call."

Tsunade took a breath before letting out a slow easy breath. "First of all, the Sandaime was a great man and an outstanding shinobi. But he was a man, one with some big flaws.

Chief among them he was a giant pervert. At least as big as Jiraiya over here. In fact, Sensei was the one who started Jiraiya at peeping in bathhouses. One such trip was how sensei met his wife."

Kurenai was flabbergasted, knowing Asuma as she did, she know how as a father the Sandaime left much to be desired. When Asuma's sister died in childbirth she had still not been talking to her father. But to think the revered Hokage was the one to start Jiraiya on peeping was a big shock.

"Another of Sensei's flaws was more of a little habit of his with people. He tended to hold people to high standards, often unrealistic ones. When those standards were exposed, most would generally agree he was asking too much. He hardly trained Jiraiya in anything beyond a couple of jutsu he taught the whole team and mission tactics. Most of Jiraiya's training comes from the toads and then later my grandmother helping to refine his skill and seal work. Even my training was sporadic, mostly when Orochimaru did something to disappoint him.

Don't get me wrong, even though not training someone properly, he was very good at imparting wisdom or knowledge. However, if he didn't like your actions, he usually gave you a lecture or a proverb to think on."

Jiraiya injected "I talked to Sensei after I decided to take Naruto on as a student. He made a point of mentioning how disappointed he was with both Iruka and Kakashi. Even mentioned that he feared Kakashi had repeated his mistake with me and Orochimaru."

"Do, do you think he was disappointed with my actions as a sensei." such a thought seemed horrific to Kurenai. Even with his students talking of his overcritical standards.

Tsunade responded with a shake of her head. "Not that I can tell. He most likely hadn't put you through one of his tests yet. When I looked in your file there was nothing but positive marks from Sensei." the genjutsu mistress relaxed at that.

"Now Kurenai does the initial U.H. mean anything to you?"

Taking a moment to think, team 8's sensei replied, "not that comes to mind."

"How about with your kunoichi?" Jiraiya intently handing the scroll he had been working on back to Tsunade. The Hokage took a sharp intake of breath.

"No" the jounin replied casually. She had no clue what those initials could do with any of her students let alone Hinata.

Tsunade locked the jounin sense with a sharp stare. "I want you to get a few scrolls together on genjutsu theory and development. If you can throw in a few basic ones as well. Within the next two days please."

"Hai Hokage-sama, I'll get right on that."

As she left Kurenai couldn't help but notice the edge of a containment seal on the scroll.

…...

Shizune made her way into the intelligence division, order scrolls in hand. Another scroll from the village banks already secured in her Kimono. Of course, they weren't the only scrolls on her person. She supposed this could be considered a form of training given the weight. Seeing her target, Tsunade's apprentice put on her game face.

"Inoichi, I have orders from Tsunade-sama. If we can talk privately."

"Sure Shizune-san let us go to my office." Following the head of the intelligence division and the Yamanaka clan, the medic quickly eyed the area. They were alone, with the clan head's back to her the medic quickly reached into her sleeve and separated two small scrolls from the rest. Eyeing them quickly she moved them back in, glad that she still had the scrolls ordered correctly in her mind.

Entering his office Inoichi shut the door after offering Shizune a seat. "Do I need to set the security seals?"

"No that won't be necessary. Besides I'm sure we are secure enough." the Hokage's secretary replied. It wasn't an unnecessary statement. Th office was three floors below ground, inside one of the most secure buildings in the village. Besides, it's not like she was planning to say anything that would be an issue.

Shizune handed over the orders and waited for the head of intelligence to open them up. Predictably the man's eyes shot up before a groan escaped his lips as the full ramifications hit him.

"You still drink regularly with Shikaku and Chouza correct?" Shizune asked before Inoichi could find any words.

"Yes, why?"

Shizune replied by pulling out three scrolls, each addressed to one of the Ino-Shika-Chou clan heads. Opening the one addressed to him the Yamanaka clan head slumped in relief. "I'll deliver the other two scrolls tonight and carry out Tsunade-sama's orders to the letter." the intelligence division head stated.

"What scrolls Inoichi-sama?" the medic asked innocently.

"Yes, of course, how foolish of me. I guess this mess with Uzumaki had me distracted. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know." the clan head stated, though Shizune detected a touch of insincerity.

Shizune's response was quick and carried a dangerous aura to it. "Just carry out your orders, Lady Tsunade and I will take care of my little brother." with that, Shizune left to carry out the rest of her tasks.

…...

Dragon had been the head of ANBU black ops for a little over 10 years. He had been in ANBU for close to 20. In that time, he had faced countless enemies, nearly losing his life more times than he could count.

Excluding when the Kyuubi attacked, for fear like that couldn't be measured, Dragon was currently more scared then he had been in his life. Taking a deep breath Dragon knocked on the door to his boss's office.

He could just hear a rustle of papers and the cling of some glasses. He was then told to enter. Walking in, the ANBU could see Tsunade's eyebrows raised slightly as she clearly didn't expect him to be here.

"Was there a meeting I forgot about?" the Hokage asked. A sake bottle and glass could be just seen peeking out from behind the Hokage's desk.

"No Hokage-sama, I have a request, and given the nature of the request I thought it best to not have this meeting on record." Dragon said.

"What is your request Dragon?" Tsunade asked in a calculated tone.

"Am I correct to assume that the Daimyo did not correct his error in judgment?" Dragon asked.

"Yes," the slug summoner growled out.

"Then I would like to make a request that genin Uzumaki be given an exception and be inducted into ANBU black ops," Dragon asked with every ounce of sincerity he could muster.

"So, you wish to train Naruto to defy the village council and our Daimyo to keep him in the village?" Tsunade replied.

"Ma'am, Naruto Uzumaki would cease to exist upon entering the ANBU just like all other ANBU members." Dragon countered.

Tsunade sighed "Unfortunately, the Daimyo is sending a party to make sure that Naruto is out of the village. Before you ask, no, you can't send a squad with him when Naruto leaves. Arrangements for his protection are already covered." Tsunade replayed crisply.

"Ma'am, I must insist that you have an escort with you. The current Hokage and the most promising Hokage candidate we have must be protected." Dragon insisted.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously "How do you know my plans?"

"With all due respect, I am the head of your personal forces. More so, even if we weren't ordered to, all of us in black ops would protect Naruto with our lives. He has earned that much and far more." reluctantly the head of black ops continued "besides, your sake glass is empty"

Tsunade cursed "fine, I'll allow you to perform an escort out of the village and prepare anything you think we will need for the journey. I'm leaving Jiraiya in charge. Make sure that Naruto and I have a village to come back to. More so, one we can be proud of." the Godaime ordered.

"Yes, my lady." the ANBU replied in disappointment. As he excused himself to leave, he was stopped by Tsunade.

"Dragon, if what I read in sensei's journal's correct, you know the location of my grandmother's temple."

"Yes, I do."

"It would be a shame if someone were to break into it and steal its contents." Tsunade absently said.

"Yes ma'am, it would." the head of black ops with a smile behind his mask. "it would also be a shame if the lost clan's vaults vanished. I'll personally make sure that such things don't happen." with renewed determination Dragon vanished.

…...

A/N: I would like to thank the two guest who reviewed this story one who made a correction. Try a Betareader, Beta u need one, (yes I get the irony of the names with me.), Anarion87, Shadow-Realm-Productions. Jormungandr1994, NarHina, Dante3142 and of course a special thank you to Darth Tenibris. With out him this chapter wont of gotten out so fast.

I would like to thanks my new beta reader. NeoHummel

feel free to skip this as it is most in my opinion half rant half stuff no one cares about.

A couple of other things I became aware that at this point not many may know what the perfect lionheart challenge is for the uninformed. It may very well be the source or at least the reason why there are so many Naruto get kicked out of Konoha stories. The challenge can be found on perfect lionheart page last I know if you someone can't find it there simply pm me and I'll send them a copy of it. Basically, it boils down to the fact that Naruto gets kicked out of Konoha and Tsunade doesn't just take sit there and take it. She leaves with him. Most of the time the group rubs Konoha blind on the way out. Civilians are stupid and let the world fall around them cheering all the time. The people left behind are either evil or leave at the first chance they get. The stories that are more then one-shots tend to be full of tropes (some are very well done if left finished). I will emit to start with so is this one. The story I am posting is my fifth rewrite of it. Each rewrite suffered from different issues. Part of it being trying and failing to avoid the tropes that I kind of feel is inherent to the challenge at least in the beginning. with that thought, I decided to instead of avoiding the troops in brace them full seeing if I can try come up with ways that work with them. That and finish the story as today I have not found a multiple chapter story of this challenge that was finished.

Ok, the other thing I can not begin to tell everyone how grateful I am for the corrections or suggesting they leave. For reasons that no one wants to get into spelling and grammar is a problem on what I spend far to much time in my life trying to improve. That is not made any easier by the fact I learn best by doing. If you think my stuff is bad now you should what it was before started writing.


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